Rocker arm assemblies for internal combustion engines and the like pivot about a fixed point, thereby displacing a valve of the internal combustion engine.
A rocker arm is ordinarily considered part of a valve train of an internal combustion engine, which is disposed within a cylinder head of the engine and also includes valves, springs and camshafts.
A rocker arm for an internal combustion engine is pivotably disposed on a rocker arm shaft and is pivoted either by a cam directly or by a pushrod in contact with the cam to open and close one or more engine valves. Often, an engine brake actuator is supplied to pivot the rocker arm one or more times during an engine cycle to cause the engine to apply braking torque to wheels of the vehicle in which the engine is used. Conventionally, the cam contacts the rocker arm on a first side of the rocker arm shaft, below the rocker arm, and the brake actuator contacts the rocker arm on a second side of the rocker arm shaft, above the rocker arm. In this arrangement, the brake actuator is located above the engine, substantially in-line with the valve, and pushes down on the rocker arm. This arrangement, however, results in an undesirable increased height and overall size of the engine assembly.